Teou_10.mp4 -

A new notification popped up on the desktop of a computer three towns over: Download Complete: teou_11.mp4.

The audio, previously silent, kicked in with a low, rhythmic thumping—the sound of a cursor clicking. On the screen, a mouse pointer moved independently of Elias’s hand. It dragged the "teou_10.mp4" file into the trash. Then, it emptied the bin. teou_10.mp4

Terrified, Elias slammed his laptop shut. The room fell into near-total darkness. He sat in the silence, heart hammering against his ribs, waiting for a touch that didn't come. After several minutes of held breath, he realized the hum of his laptop's cooling fan was still running. He opened the lid. The video hadn't stopped. A new notification popped up on the desktop

Elias froze. He didn't turn around. He watched the digital version of himself on the screen, bathed in the blue light of the monitor. In the video, a hand—long, grey, and textured like wet slate—slowly reached out from the shadows of his closet. It hovered inches from the back of his neck. It dragged the "teou_10

When he clicked play, the screen didn't show a video. It showed a live feed of his own room, filmed from a perspective just behind his left shoulder.